Maybe In Another Century
by toxicwhales
Summary: Back in ancient times, two young men from different worlds slowly become inseparable friends, overcoming obstacles and creating unforgettable memories. However, as forces threaten to tear the two apart and their bond strengthens, they come to realize that their friendship masks the passion and attraction hidden underneath. South Korea x Male!OC!Philippines
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: THIS CONTAINS BOY X BOY! IF YOU DO NOT LIKE, THEN DO NOT READ THIS STORY!

Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya

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Centuries ago, there lived a wealthy kingdom in the east ruled by a king. The king was known as a strict man, believing that rules, etiquette, and justice were top priority. However, his beliefs did not stop him from being a good and kind father. He had three sons, who all had different mothers. Even so, they were very similar in appearance and loved and respected each other. And while the older siblings were tough and brave, the youngest was soft and passive. He did not like to fight or argue, and spoke with a softer voice than his brothers. He had muscle, but bordered more on slim. Noticing this, the king tried all he could to toughen his youngest son, so that he could help govern his kingdom and fight in wars. But it ended up being a lot harder than he'd thought, because he, as well as his older sons, could not help but pamper their smallest and delicate family member.

"Your Highness, it is time to wake up."

The young prince slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight invading his lush chambers, momentarily blinding him. He sat up in his bed and stretched, the silk sheets pooling around his narrow waist. As he rose, servants had already begun to decorate him in garments. The prince stood and stared blankly at the wall as they dressed him, feeling the silk cloth wrap around his hips, and the weight of the gold ornaments rest on his shoulders, neck, and head. They weren't his usual attendants. They must have been busy with something else. He said his good mornings politely as they prepared him, engaging in a bit of small talk. Not like they talked much anyway. The servants stepped back, allowing him to exit his chambers, their heads low.

The prince walked down the maze of hallways with ease, making his way to his family who sat waiting for him outside in front of a large pond secluded by trees and decorated walls. He would always meet them there after his father came back from a long trip. They seemed to be conversing about something, however immediately stopped as soon as the youngest sibling came into earshot. They were probably talking about their plans to conquer a rival kingdom.

His two older brothers sat on a cushioned mat in front of their father, who sat on a detailed chair under a parasol, hiding him from the sun. The prince bowed his head to his brothers, and walked in front of his father, kneeling and grasping his father's hand gently, resting his head on it as a sign of respect. The king softly laid his hand on his son's head, smiling gently.

"Welcome home, Father." Said the young prince as he sat himself beside his elder brothers.

"Have you been improving your skills while I was away, my sons?" asked the king.

The second oldest son was the first to speak. "Remember the last time I fought Raden, Father? Well, I finally defeated him!" he boasted.

"I tripped on a root! It wasn't fair play!" Raden, the oldest brother retorted.

"Ha! We were in the middle of the courtyard! How could you have tripped on a root?"

"You shoved me and I tripped on a root!"

The youngest sibling watched his older brothers bicker, chuckling softly every time one of them made a snarky joke about the other. Their father decided to add a few comments into their conversation, further aggravating the petty argument between the brothers. This lasted for a little longer, before the two princes decided to have a rematch out in the forest, leaving the youngest brother and his father alone.

"And how has your training gone?" asked the king, gazing down at his beloved son. The king was so lenient and kind to him, one could argue that the king favored his youngest son over the others.

"I think I have been improving… I'm not so sure." The prince answered with his soft voice. "I don't think I'm going to get any better."

The king sighed and smiled gently, placing his hand on his son's head. "You will, my son. You will. You have yet to bloom."

The prince nodded and smiled back at his father before dismissing himself. He sighed lightly once he entered the large palace. The young prince was always told that he would someday be as strong as his father and brothers, but he knew that was just a fantasy. His body might have been able to lift a few heavy things or so, but that didn't mean he could last for three minutes in a fist fight, let alone win one. His father told him that he was just a "late bloomer" though. Yeah, sure.

The prince's attendants were already waiting for him with his other set of clothes when he arrived at his chambers. They immediately started to shed his formal clothing, replacing the heavy expensive gold and silks with light cotton fabric. His tense muscles relaxed as he slipped into the thin, baggy shirt and pants no longer feeling the weight of the heavy ornaments he had to wear every day. He finished off his new outfit by wrapping a long piece of fabric around his head in a turban-like style, successfully hiding his dark, medium length hair. He now looked like any other commoner.

"Be careful Your Highness, there are foreigners in our ports this time of year." One attendant warned. The prince smiled and strode towards the window, lowering a rope that reached the ground three stories below.

"That just makes it more fun, right?" he said excitedly.

His servant sighed, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "You may be weaker than your brothers, but you are far more adventurous than the two of them combined."

The young prince laughed lightly before lowering himself onto the ground using the rope. He was thankful that he had such trustworthy people there to serve him. They were reluctant at first, like any other attendant would be, but after some persuading, they allowed him to leave at any time he pleased. This was a regular thing really, every other day or so he'd leave the palace and escape to the hustling city below. He wouldn't do anything too crazy rather, he would blend in with the rest of the crowd and watch the commoners work and play. Sometimes it seemed like the commoners had more freedom than he did. They got to meet, talk, and play with their friends, say what they wanted with no one to judge them, and even go where ever they wanted. But even if the prince could not have this freedom, watching his people enjoy this luxury was a breath of fresh air. He would leave more often if he could, but the risk of getting caught would increase.

Walking into the large cluster of people in the streets, the prince in disguise let the flow of the crowd slowly push him towards the docks. Soon, the herd of people diverged into different directions, giving him the ability to walk freely the rest of the way. When he arrived at the docks, it was almost like he was in a different world. These foreigners looked like them, yet looked so different at the same time. Their skin was paler, their hair was darker, and they seemed to chatter in an unfamiliar language, their voices pitching higher and lower as if singing a song. The foreigners had set up stands that held fabrics, silks, green stones and jewellery, as well as pottery and other ceramics. It was interesting to watch them sell and trade their goods with his people. He walked by as many stands as he could, exploring these foreign objects that his people used every day and yet he knew nothing about. Every now and then a foreigner would scream in his ear and shove their trade goods in his face, which he took as advertising. It startled him the first few times, but he soon got used to it and shook his head every time someone would try to sell him something. The prince stopped by one particular stand that sold white pottery with intricate blue designs. He was careful not to come too close to the breakable ceramics, having experience with breaking pottery at the palace due to clumsiness.

Only a few stands down, a young trader who was travelling with his older brothers was selling the goods that they'd brought with them. He jumped and yelled, and even sang, his unusual curl bouncing along with every movement. Although it was a little tiring travelling, it was worth it when he got to go to new places. He even learned how to speak a few languages fluently from listening to other traders. Man, was he smart. He smiled to himself, thinking about how charming and intelligent he was to attract so many customers. The ladies were drooling over him!

"What's with that stupid grin?"

The young man was interrupted by his younger brother, who had his usual emotionless expression on his face. "Hey! You totally interrupted my 'me' time, Xiao-Xiao!" he whined.

"I don't really care. And stop calling me that."

The trader pouted and turned away, looking over at the other stands. That's where he spotted him. A young native who looked to be around his age, studying a vase very closely. It was kind of weird; it was as if the guy had never seen one before. The trader continued to watch him, laughing quietly at the young man's peculiar behaviour.

The prince continued to gaze at the vase, tracing the designs with his eyes, only to lose track of where he was before. He was so focused on it he didn't notice a thief running at full speed towards him.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!"

The thief dodged and shoved people nearby, running as he clutched a bag of gold he'd stolen. However, a cart had pulled over, blocking his path. Desperate to escape, he decided to run through a small space between the disguised prince and a display of pottery. He dove through the small path, shoving the young man and toppling over a few vases, instantly breaking at the contact of the ground.

The prince was bewildered as he was shoved back by a running stranger, vases falling over and shattering on the ground, spraying him with shards of glass and ceramics. He'd gotten a few cuts and scrapes, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. However, the trader who owned the vases, his back turned and unaware of the thief that ran by, turned around from all of the noise, only to be met with a young stranger and broken remains of his goods. The large man bounded towards the disguised prince, his face beet red, and his braid swishing behind him.

The angry man roughly grabbed a fistful the young prince's loose turban, screaming at him in foreign words he could not understand. He kept pointing at the broken vases. "I-I didn't do it! I-I swear! I c-can pay for it if you j-just let m-me go home and g-get my money!" The prince stuttered as he trembled with fear, tears prickling his eyes from the pain of his hair being yanked. He didn't seem to understand, and if he did, he didn't believe him. People around them had seen the thief run by, but didn't try to defend the young man, trying to mind their own business. The angry trader released him, only to grab the front of his shirt, shaking him violently and continuing to scream incomprehensible words. "I-I don't understand! I-I…!" the prince said fearfully. The large man grabbed what seemed to be some sort of wooden rod, and raised it high in the air above the prince's head. His eyes widened, aware of what the foreigner was going to do to him. He struggled in the man's iron grip as he tried to convince him. "N-no! Please! I-I didn't do it!" The prince begged. He cowered as the wooden rod came down on him.


	2. Chapter 2

His eyes were shut tightly, expecting the pain that didn't come. He slowly opened his eyes. The angry man's hand was stopped by another trader. He was tall, almost a head taller than he was, and looked to be around his age. What puzzled the young prince the most however, was that bizarre curl hanging on the right side of his head that seemed to have… a face? He spoke to the angry man rapidly in unfamiliar words. The angry man seemed to protest, but after he said something else he went quiet and let go, shuffling back to his stand mumbling. The prince relaxed after he was released from that scary man and turned to thank the stranger who helped him, only to be snatched by the wrist and pulled towards the docks. Was he going to kidnap him? The prince had heard stories about civilians disappearing after visits from foreigners. There were rumours that they were chopped up into pieces and turned into soup, their bones used for medicine. He never believed those rumours though. They couldn't be true. Right? The foreigner had not said a word to him yet and he seemed to be pulling him towards a large trade ship with bright yellow sails, which clashed with the white and red sails of other boats. Maybe he didn't speak his language either. He didn't try to communicate with him just yet though, to prevent any misunderstandings. He just hoped this guy was nice.

The large ship was busy with crew workers, carrying goods in and out of the ship, hollering to each other from either end. The foreign trader dragged the prince into the interior of the ship, leading him down the wooden hallways and into a room that seemed to be his sleeping quarters, judging by the cot and personal items he saw. The man motioned towards the cot. "Sit down over there." Not wanting to disobey, the prince sat down on the bed and watched the stranger dig through his storage chests for something. Seeing that he could speak his language and finding it appropriate to start a conversation, he decided to talk.

"Thank you very much for saving me."

"Hm?" The young man turned his head to look at him and grinned. "Oh, it's no problem. It's only natural for me to save someone in trouble."

"Is this your ship?" the prince asked.

"Nah, I wish. It's my older brother Yao's. But someday I'm going to have a ship like this, maybe bigger! That is unless I join the army first." The man continued to search through his things as he spoke. He didn't seem so bad, not like the other man.

"You speak my language very well."

"Huh? Oh, well, when you go travelling a lot and sail to different places, you pick up a few things, you know?" He said enthusiastically. It almost seemed like he was gloating. "I've been travelling since I was a kid, so it's gotta happen right? I mean, my brothers can speak different languages too, but I'm the best." Yes, he was gloating.

The prince studied the stranger for a few moments, taking in his appearance to try to figure out who this was. The young man wore silk robes, which may have hinted that he was wealthy. He was tall, pale, had short dark hair, and from what he'd briefly seen before, he had bright brown eyes. Not to mention that curl. It was odd looking at a foreigner for so long.

The young stranger must have must have noticed the long silence, because he turned to look at him again right when he was still staring at him. Their eyes met for a few moments before the prince quickly averted his eyes, embarrassed. The young man laughed and approached him, placing his hand on the prince's arm. He immediately jerked at the touch, causing the other to pull back a bit.

"Whoa, calm down there! I'm just going to bandage your cuts." He pulled back the prince's sleeve, revealing a few wounds he'd received from the broken vases.

"Oh."

He laughed again. "Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you or anything. I personally think guys like that give us foreigners a bad name." He made a face of realization before speaking again. "Speaking of names, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Yong Soo! What's yours?"

The prince hesitated for a moment, worried that giving his name would reveal his identity. But he was a foreigner. Then again, that doesn't mean that he wouldn't know of a prince. A series of thoughts ran through his head. He had decided. "My name is…" he threw some nervous glances to the side. "Guinto."

"Guinto? Cool! I'm gonna call you Guin!" said Yong Soo with a big grin.

The prince was taken aback a bit by the sudden nickname, but accepted it. He watched as Yong Soo took out a few bandages and applied them to his cuts. He apparently had a bruise at the back of his neck as well, but he couldn't help but laugh and pull away when Yong Soo tried to apply medicine to it.

"Get back here! That bruise is going to get darker if we don't put medicine on it!" He laughed as he dipped his fingers in the greenish fluid he called "medicine". He reached for Guinto's neck again, but was again met with struggling. "No! It tickles! Stop that! It smells weird!" Guinto laughed and dodged once more, trying to escape his gooey fingers. Yong Soo, determined to somehow get the medicine on him, made a lunge towards the prince, however instead of getting it on his neck, his fingers missed and ended up smearing the medicine on Guinto's cheek. He pulled away, attempting to wipe the green substance off his face, only for it to stick to his sleeve.

"Oh gross!" he exclaimed.

"Ha! See, that's what happens when you struggle!" Yong Soo teased with his slimey fingers.

Guinto grinned mischievously for a moment, but before he could retaliate, he dipped his fingers in the jar of medicine and smeared it across Yong Soo's forehead. "Ha! Not so great now, is it?" said the prince, sticking his tongue out at the other man.

"Aw, gross!" said Yong Soo, trying to wipe the goo off his face just as Guinto was before. He scooped a chunk of medicine, flinging it at the prince. Soon, all formalities were lost, and the two were in a full out slime-throwing fight, green goo coating them both as they wrestled each other on the cot. In a swoop of his leg, Yong Soo managed to trip the other, making him collapse on top of the trader. He used this chance flip both of them over so that he was on top and hovering over Guinto. Now that he was in control, he could finally finish what he had to do. Yong Soo plunged his fingers into the jar of green goo, and gently massaged the prince's bruise, using his other hand to keep the other from struggling. Guinto was laughing uncontrollably as he did so, attracting some attention from the people outside.

"What is all the noise in there?" Yong Soo's younger brother as well as his older brother were outside the door to his dorm. There was loud laughter coming from inside. There seemed to be someone else in there with Yong Soo. "I will check." The older brother reached for the door, sliding it open, revealing his younger brother, currently on top of a native, both covered in medicine. The two whipped their heads towards the sound of the opening door and stared at the two brothers in the doorway. The four stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, before the oldest spoke.

"Have we… interrupted anything?"

Yong Soo chuckled nervously. "No, not really…"

More silence. Guinto's face was slowly reddening more and more from embarrassment.

"You guys look pretty comfortable."

"Xiao Chun!"

"What? They do. Look." The younger brother pointed towards the duo on the cot. Yong Soo was straddling and hovering over Guinto, his hand resting his collarbone. The two didn't notice what position they were in until Xiao Chun had pointed it out. They stared at each other for a moment, taking in what they were doing, until they jolted and quickly retreated to either side of the small bed. The prince hurriedly stood up from the cot and attempted to straighten out his clothes.

"U-um, I think I'll leave now." Guinto said as he headed for the door "Thank you for the help, Yong Soo."

"H-hey wait a minute, Guin! You can't leave like that!" Yong Soo followed behind, and pointed at Guinto's clothes, greens stains and smears covering his cotton shirt.

"Huh? Oh, it's alright. I'll wash them at home." He chuckled lightly, trying squeeze past Yong Soo's brothers, who didn't seem to want to budge. The older one excused himself as he grabbed Guinto, inspecting his stained clothing.

"No. We can't let you walk out of our ship like this because of our brother's carelessness." He finally said after a few minutes. Guinto was going to protest, but didn't get the chance because Yong Soo's brothers had grabbed both of his wrists and dragged him down the hall, deeper into the interior of the ship, with Yong Soo himself close behind.

"Where are we g-going?" asked Guinto nervously. Really, he was being dragged everywhere today.

"You should wash up before you head outside. It's not dignifying for you to walk covered in medicine in public." replied the older brother. He stopped abruptly and turned to Guinto, bowing lightly. " Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Kiku."

The prince stepped back and bowed as well. "O-oh, m-my name is-"

"Guinto! His name is Guinto!" Yong Soo interrupted, patting the prince on the back rather roughly. "I call him Guin though. But you can't cause that's my nickname for him."

"Guinto? What a weird name." Xiao Chun said as he stared at the prince with his poker face and blank brown eyes. He kind of scared him. "I'm Xiao Chun. You probably know that already. "

Guinto nodded, a nervous smile playing on his face. The three young men continued to lead the prince down the halls, when they finally arrived at a certain door. It looked like any other door. Guinto didn't know what they were going to do. That was, until they shoved him and Yong Soo inside. It looked like some sort of public bath. There were two wooden bath tubs large enough to fit two people on either side, with buckets and stools scattered around. A shelve of bottles hung at the back of the room. Guinto pondered on what he was supposed to do. The fact that he was supposed to bathe was obvious, but where was he supposed to start? The buckets? The stools? The tubs? He'd only ever bathed outside under a small waterfall in a secluded area of the river. Secluded. Meaning alone. He glanced over to Yong Soo, who was already undoing his robes.

"U-uh, what are you doing?" Guinto asked nervously.

Yong Soo turned to the red-faced man, apparently unfazed by the fact that he was now half naked. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking a bath." He looked at Guinto questioningly. "…You do know how to take a bath… right?"

"Of course I know how to take a bath!" he fumed. "I'm just not familiar with this kind of bathing! W-where am I supposed to start?"

"Well, you have to undress first."

Guinto blushed three shades darker before reluctantly undressing himself, making sure he was turned away so the trader couldn't see all of him.

"You know, if you're so uncomfortable being naked in front of me, you can use this." Yong Soo tossed a piece of cloth, to which Guinto hastily accepted and wrapped around his waist. He laughed. "You've never been to a public bath? Or bathed with others in a river or something?"

The prince shook his head vigorously. "Only by myself. No one else."

He laughed again. Guinto began to take off the bandages that were previously applied.

"Ah, and we just put those on too." Yong Soo sighed. He walked over to Guinto and began to inspect his cuts, lightly tracing his fingers over them, making the other blush and stiffen. "Well, they stopped bleeding so that's okay." He smiled and continued undressing until he was only in his birthday suit. He motioned Guinto over to the stools.

"We're just here to wash the medicine off, so ignore the tubs. Look, just sit on the stool here, and use the bucket and detergents to wash yourself." Yong Soo explained, doing exactly as he'd said. Guinto, now pretty sure of what he was doing, sat down on a stool and scooped the hot water from the tub using the bucket, and began to rinse himself. He had to say, it felt pretty good.

"Why are you sitting all the way over there?" asked a very whiny voice.

Guinto sighed and turned around to look at Yong Soo's pouting face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're sitting on the other side of the room." Yong Soo pointed at him, who was indeed sitting across the room next to the small window. His eyes grew large and watered with tears. "Do you really hate me that much?"

"I-I never said that, it's just that-"

"Do you like being near the window?"

"No I-"

"Yeah, it's a nice view isn't it?"

"You're not listening to me, I-"

"Oh, I know!"

And before he knew it, Yong Soo was sitting comfortably on his stool beside him less than two feet apart, humming happily as he lathered himself with soap. Guinto cast a few glares at the trader before averting his eyes somewhere else, seeing that he was naked. He didn't know how Yong Soo could be so comfortable bathing next to someone he'd never met before. Unlike him, who was stark naked, Guinto had wrapped himself tightly with the cloth he was given. Turning away from his bath buddy, he too began to scrub himself with soaps, starting from the head and down, making sure to be gentle with his cuts. The so called "detergent" smelled like herbs and green tea, a scent Guinto had taken a liking to. As he washed his "vital regions", he couldn't help but notice that there was an extra pair of hands on his back. He slowly turned his head, only to meet Yong Soo's big brown eyes. He screamed and fell off his stool.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"What… what's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong is that you're… you're…" Guinto's cheeks reddened for the tenth time, unable to finish his sentence from embarrassment.

"What? I'm just helping you wash your back." Yong Soo said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wash… my back… wha- AH!" He jolted as Yong Soo continued what he was doing before, gently dragging the soapy cloth across his back. The trader firmly held Guinto's shoulder, preventing him from squirming or struggling.

"Geez, you are way too jumpy." He sighed. "You act like I'm going to molest you or something." Guinto felt his face heat up. Yong Soo definitely had a thing for embarrassing him. He relaxed, allowing the other to continue washing his back. He wondered how his family would react if they found out that he had bathed with a stranger he'd met an hour ago. And a foreigner at that. They'd probably bury him alive and burn the soil he was buried with. He panicked at the thought. He'd keep this as a secret. Yong Soo did save him after all.

"There! Done! You can rinse yourself off now." Yong Soo stood up from behind him and walked back over to the stool beside him.

Guinto grabbed the bucket, scooped more water, and poured it on himself, washing away the suds down into the drain below. He sighed softly as he felt the filth leave his body. But his peace was ended of course, because his new friend wanted him to return the favor.

"Now it's my turn!" Yong Soo tossed a soapy cloth to the prince. He turned on his stool, facing away from Guinto and pointed at his back.

Well this was going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

"The dirt and sweat won't come off if you don't scrub a little harder. I can barely feel it!"

"S-sorry!"

"Ouch! That's too hard! You'll scrape my skin off!"

"Sorry!"

Somehow, Yong Soo had persuaded Guinto into helping him wash his back, and it wasn't starting off too well. If Guinto kept this irregular scrubbing up, Yong Soo's back would start bleeding. He had no experience with washing other people's backs, and it really showed in this situation. He had no idea how hard to scrub and where to start or finish, earning a few scoldings from Yong Soo.

"Wow, you really suck at this." He said as he rubbed his lower back, which was now turning a light shade of pink from Guinto's inexperienced scrubbing.

Guinto crossed his arms and pouted. "It's not my fault! I've never done this before!"

Yong Soo sighed and turned to face him, taking his hand. "Here, like this." He guided Guinto's hand to his chest and ran the soapy cloth in circular motions. "Just pretend you're bathing yourself or something."

Although Yong Soo hadn't noticed just yet, Guinto was on the verge of fainting from the overflow of blood to his head. In other words, his face. How could this man be okay with him touching him while bathing? On his front and back too! He tried to pull his hand away, but the trader had a solid grip on his hand, and was insistent on making him learn. As Yong Soo rambled on about scrubbing correctly, Guinto couldn't help but note how strong and firm his chest was. His eyes lowered, stopping at Yong Soo's hips for obvious reasons, and rose up to his collarbone, taking in every detail. He was indeed very muscular, with his toned abdomen, broad shoulders and above average biceps. He must have gotten this strong from working everyday as a trader. But even then, there were also traders who were really weak looking like himself. Guinto frowned a little. Why couldn't he be strong too? Judging by his looks, he could probably beat him in a fight in less than a minute. Envy brewed for a few moments before the trader interrupted him.

"Uh, Guin? Hello? Are you there?" Yong Soo waved his hands in front of the prince's eyes, which were unknowingly fixed on his face.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh! Yes?"

Yong Soo looked at him impatiently. "You probably got it now don't you? Here, try it now." He handed over the cloth and turned around once more. Not too hard, not too soft. Guinto slowly dragged the cloth in circles, somehow pretending that he was bathing himself. The soapy cloth glided up and down his back, the foam trickling down his pale skin. Every now and then Guinto would glance up at the back of Yong Soo's head to see if he was doing it correctly. So far, there weren't any complaints. Confident that he'd gotten the right amount of pressure to put into scrubbing, his pace began to quicken.

Yong Soo turned to him and beamed. "Hey, you're getting better at this!" He said proudly. "You're almost as good as I am! Of course not better, cause no one is better than me!" Guinto rolled his eyes.

After the two young men finished bathing and dressed themselves, they headed up onto the deck where Kiku and Xiao Chun waited for them. They turned to face the duo when they approached, a mixture of impatience and curiosity in their eyes.

"Where were you two?" Kiku asked.

"More like, what took you so long." Xiao Chun added. He looked at Yong Soo. "You didn't try to do anything to him in there did you? I'm not going to clean it up if that's the case."

Yong Soo's face reddened. "N-no! Why would I do anything to him?"

"I dunno, he looks good enough."

Guinto looked at the two brothers quizzically, cocking his head to the side. "Do what to me?"

"Oh, you know, have se-"

"Okay! Well, you're here now!" Kiku interrupted, passing a glare to Xiao Chun who shrugged. "You are free to go."

Guinto nodded and began to walk over to the gangway, eager to go back to the palace and get some peace and quiet.

"Hey wait!" Yong Soo rushed over to where Guinto was and blocked the exit. "You're just going to leave? And after all we've been through?"

He looked at the trader skeptically. "You mean warding off an angry man, throwing medicine at each other, and bathing each other?" Guinto cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "You call that 'all we've been through'?"

Yong Soo pouted, his cheeks puffed. "Well if you say it that way, it doesn't seem very important at all, does it?"

"We might see each other again, I guess. That is if we bump into each other in the streets or something." The prince sighed.

Yong Soo's eyes lit up. "Really? You mean it?" He smiled broadly and grasped Guinto's shoulders. "Alright! I'll be looking for you!" Yong Soo ran off happily before he could say anything else. Guinto watched as he raced across the deck in glee, almost knocking over a few people by accident. He laughed lightly at his childish behaviour. How he had turned out like that and not like his more normal brothers was a mystery. Guinto rubbed his shoulders where Yong Soo had grabbed him. He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but when Yong Soo touched him, his breath hitched. It was probably shock, but it felt different. Guinto shook his head and left the ship, making his way to the palace. It was shock.

As Guinto walked down the street, his thoughts wandered around Yong Soo. Where was he from? Did he do anything else than just travel? Was he properly educated? Where was he in terms of status? What was his family like?

He never stopped thinking about him, even as he snuck back into his chambers using a rope that was lowered by his attendants. He stared blankly at the wall as they changed his clothes, from commoner to royalty. Would he really go back to that place tomorrow? Yong Soo was eccentric, but not dangerous. Was he?

His thoughts swirled in his mind. Would he go? Or would he forget about it? Time passed quickly, his daily lessons passing through his brain, and the numb pain of being hit by sticks during training.

"Hello? Hello~? Are you there?"

Guinto blinked and looked at his older brother, Raden. "Uh, yes?"

He tsked. "You have been daydreaming all day! Is something wrong?"

"No. Not really, I haven't been sleeping as much is all." he lied.

Raden leaned close to Guinto, their noses almost touching. "You can fool Father and Sazali, but I know when my baby brother is lying." He narrowed his eyes. "Have you gone out to the city again?"

Guinto gulped, deciding to tell him the truth to avoid any more problems. "Yes. I did."

His brother leaned back and groaned. "You know you're not supposed to-"

"Why not? You and Sazali go out all the time! Why can't I?"

"I'm not saying you can't, it's just that it's too dangerous!"

Guinto straightened, his eyes determined. "Raden, please. I'm a man now. I'm not a boy anymore. I can take care of myself."

"That's not what training told me." Raden scoffed.

"I can make smart choices! I am not a child anymore! If people out there can live happily and peacefully every day, I can walk around the city unnoticed!" Guinto argued. "I haven't been caught yet, and as long as I wear my disguise, I never will be! And it's not like the guards won't recognize me!"

"But then I won't be able to find you if-"

"Please, Brother!"

Raden hesitated for a moment, his eyes fixed on Guinto's desperate ones. He sighed and smiled slightly. "I guess I can trust my baby brother this time. Alright. I'll reason with Father for you. Go crazy."

He beamed at his older brother. "Thank you! I promise I won't do anything stupid!" Guinto said as he bowed politely and dashed off. He ran down the halls excitedly, regardless of the heavy gold weighing him down. He couldn't wait. He was now free. This meant that he could go out to the city, roam the streets, talk to the commoners… And meet Yong Soo again. He slowed down and came to a complete stop in front of his chambers. Now that he could do what he wanted, would he go see Yong Soo again? If he did, then he could risk making a decision he would regret. If he didn't then the guilt would gnaw at him for the rest of his life. He pondered on it, wondering which decision he should make. Guinto entered his room and allowed his attendants to undress him.

Maybe he wouldn't look for Yong Soo. If he happened to meet him, then that was that. Yong Soo didn't let him make much of a decision anyway, so this was his. He wouldn't be able to blame him. Guinto slid into his bed under the sheets.

"Get another pair of clothes and a bit of money ready tomorrow." He ordered. "I'm going tomorrow bright and early."


	4. Chapter 4

The sun peeked out from below the horizon, hues of orange, yellow and pink coloring the dark sky, and tinting the ocean a purple-blue. Heavy footsteps of early risers on deck could be heard, disrupting the quiet lapping of the calm ocean water on the sides of the ship. As time passed, the peace of night slowly disappeared, as it was replaced by the liveliness of day. Inside the ship, a young man was sleeping soundly in his cot as the sun intruded his small dorm through the cracks in the closed, wooden window.

"Yong Soo! Wake up! Now!"

The young trader groaned at the sound of his older brother's demanding voice. "Just give me five more minutes…" he grumbled as he snuggled deeper into his bed. His older brother however, wouldn't have that. Yong Soo's once locked door was slammed open, revealing his very irritated older brother, Yao. Unlike Yong Soo, Yao was already dressed and ready for work, his red robes neatly arranged and his low pony tail perfectly holding his long black hair behind him, save for his bangs. His dark brown eyes narrowed when he saw his younger brother still buried in his bed. He marched over to his younger brother's cot, and screamed in his ear.

"Get up already Yong Soo! You've slept in enough! Those goods aren't going to sell themselves!"

Another groan. Yao scowled. He would have to do this the hard way. Carefully grabbing each end of the blanket, Yao lifted the cocoon Yong Soo had created. Using both momentum and strength, he swung the pile of blankets in circles before dropping it with a thud. The mound of blankets squirmed and rustled, a series of groans and muffled words venting from it. Shortly after, Yong Soo's head popped out of the blankets, his face clearly showing that he was not yet fully awake.

"Wha? Whazzgoinon?" he asked groggily. Yong Soo crawled out of his cave of blankets as he tiredly rubbed his eyes.

Yao strode over to the window, pushing the wooden flap open to let in the sunlight. "Come on! Hurry up and get ready for work! Today is a new day!"

Yong Soo yawned and stretched, the fatigue quickly disappearing. With his older brother nagging him, he washed himself up and got dressed, preparing for the day ahead. Right as he stepped outside, a box full of silks was shoved into his arms. Wearing his typical goofy grin, he carried the large crate down to the stands on land with ease. As he walked, his lightweight, dark blue robes swished behind him, the wind ruffling his dark hair. Today was a nice day. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and there was a nice breeze to help cool down the hot humid air. He strode down the docks and towards his usual stand, where his other brothers waited for him. Setting down the box of silks with the other goods, he said his good mornings and took over his shift. But instead of advertising like he usually did, he sat down on a stool and began to watch the people.

Yong Soo made sure he was extra observant today. He promised Guinto that he would find him. His eyes scanned the crowd for his adorable and newly found friend. Guinto looked pretty similar to everyone else in this city, but he somehow stood out among them. His aura was different. Unlike all the other men in this city, he didn't seem to have any responsibility, nothing to worry about. It was weird; he seemed like a pampered puppy compared to the tough men out there. Maybe he was an aristocrat. But he wore such poor clothing. Yong Soo was very interested in this young man. He wanted to know more about Guinto. He seemed nice. And he wasn't bad looking either. Guinto was noticeably paler than other local men and women, and thinner as well. He looked a little effeminate really. Just a little.

"Who are you looking for?"

Yong Soo glanced back his oldest brother Yao, who was working with him this shift. "Just a friend." He continued to watch the natives walk by, his eyes searching for Guinto.

Yao pulled a stool over and sat beside him. "A friend? This is a first. You're never this committed to a friend. Is it someone special?" He narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly.

Yong Soo laughed and playfully shoved his older brother. "No. He's just a friend that I've taken interested in."

"Hm. Well, business will probably be slow today. Why don't you go look for him? Do a little exploring while you're at it."

Yong Soo turned to look at Yao, surprised. "Really? Can I do that?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? Go make friends."

Yong Soo beamed and hugged him excitedly. "Thank you, Brother!" he exclaimed before running off down the streets, disappearing into the crowd.

"I hope he doesn't get lost. I don't want to have to find him in such a big city." Yao sighed. "Oh well, at least he won't be here to irritate me."

The young trader began to search the bigger streets of the city in hopes of finding that cute little friend of his. He passed by markets, street vendors, traders, families, children and more as he walked. Yong Soo took in as much as he could, watching the civilians' behaviour and looking at the architecture. Their culture was somewhat similar to his, but was so different at the same time. This was why he loved travelling. Seeing new things was his favorite thing to do. He got to see beautiful things.

But time passed quickly, the sun now in the center of the blue sky. Yong Soo was, surprisingly, starting to lose hope. Perhaps Guinto didn't want to see him again? He pouted and slouched as he began to walk back to the docks. Did he scare him away? Yao and Kiku always told him that it would be hard making friends with his personality. Maybe they were right. His self-esteem lowered the more he thought about it. He really did want to get to know Guinto. He couldn't quite explain it, but he was intrigued the very moment he laid eyes on Guinto.

Yong Soo turned and began to walk down the main street that lead to the docks. So much for trying to find Guinto. He gazed at the trade ships stationed at the docks, their bright red sails contrasting with the blue sky. As he did so, he realized. He still had plenty of time. After all, the traders weren't leaving before the start of winter. Perhaps he would try again tomorrow. Maybe he was busy today, and couldn't make it. With his new resolve, Yong Soo marched down the street with newly found confidence.

As he walked, he heard a laugh. It was a sweet and gentle laugh. One that chimed through the air above the loud chatter of other citizens. Yong Soo recognized this laugh. He whipped his head around, trying to locate where it was coming from. This was definitely fate. Fate had planned this out for him. Excitement rushed through him as he raced down the street towards that laugh. He was completely focused on that laugh. He strained his ears to hear it so he could follow it. He didn't even care about the annoyed locals who he'd almost run into. Yong Soo followed the laugh down a smaller street, where he saw him. It was clearly him. Guinto was laughing lightheartedly as he played with a happy street dog. He wasn't facing Yong Soo, but he could clearly see his untroubled face. It was just like the day before. When he was with Yong Soo in his dorm. He watched as Guinto petted the dog as it tried to lick his face. It was kind of cute actually.

"Good boy! That's a good boy!" He said. A series of giggles and laughs erupted from him as the dog began to lick his nose, a playful blush appearing on his cheeks. Yong Soo gulped, a blush appearing on his face as well. He just looked so cute.

The moment didn't last long though, because its owner had heard the laughter and emerged from his home, yelling at him to stop playing with his dog. However this didn't lower Guinto's spirits, as he merely laughed some more and apologized before running towards Yong Soo. His head was still turned as he ran towards him, resulting in a collision between the two. Before Guinto could tumble back from the impact, Yong Soo caught him in his arms to prevent him from falling.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I-" Guinto's face changed from cheerful to surprised when he saw Yong Soo. "You!"

He grinned. "Man, when you said we would bump into each other, you really meant it!"

Seeing that Yong Soo was still holding him, Guinto retreated from him hastily. "What are you doing here?" he asked, bewildered.

"Looking for you! Duh!" Yong Soo grabbed his wrist and began pulling him off to the main street. "C'mon! My brother gave me the day off, so we can do whatever today!"

"Er… okay then."

Yong Soo never stopped grinning. He wasn't sure where he was going, but it didn't really matter because Guinto was with him. He hummed happily as he ventured down the streets of this foreign city with his friend, whom he was dragging because he wasn't walking fast enough. Guinto, who was tired of the awkward silence and being dragged around, cleared his throat. "So~… Where are we going?"

Yong Soo paused. Where were they going to go? He wanted to amaze Guinto. He gazed into nothingness as he scoured his brain for a brilliant idea. Come to think of it, he seemed pretty interested in stuff from the docks. He snapped his fingers in realization. There were so many things that he had that would blow Guinto's mind away. Then he would be like, "Wow Yong Soo! You're the best! I like, totally look up to you! You're my hero!" Well, maybe not exactly, but somewhere along the lines of that. Yong Soo stroked his chin in self-admiration. It was so simple, yet so awesome! This idea was totally going to impress him. He spun around to face Guinto, his smile spread from ear to ear.

"Guinto." He started. Yong Soo's hands dramatically motioned towards the docks. "How would you like to explore the unknown?"


End file.
